By Anna Galaktionov
Russia invaded Ukraine on three sides of the country on Thursday, February 24.
As soon as President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russian tanks and troops crossed the Ukrainian borders and multiple missiles were targeted and unleashed on the capital of Kyiv, the second-largest city of Kharkiv, other prominent cities, military bases, and government buildings. At around noon, there were reports of a few dozen Ukrainians already dead.
Disregarding global condemnation and continuing sanctions, President Putin officially began the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. With numerous people fleeing the country by trains or cars, Ukraine is pleading for military assistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeals to global leaders, stating, “If you don’t help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door.”
However, President Putin threatens any country that will try to interfere with “consequences you have never seen” and hinted on utilizing nuclear arsenal. To emphasize his point, Russian troops have already taken control of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine.
Although President Putin falsely claims that he wishes to “defend people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kyiv regime,” his strive to redraw the map of Europe will doubtless cost thousands of civilian lives. Denying the statehood of Ukraine, he demands that it surrender or be “responsible for bloodshed.”
The United States has responded to the dire situation by targeting sanctions on Russia’s banks, state-controlled companies, oligarchs, and technological sectors. Many other countries have already imposed sanctions on Russia or are planning to do so. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered a freeze on the assets of all large Russian banks and intends to ban the Kremlin from earning money on British markets. Johnson said of Putin, “Now we see him for what he is — a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest.”
Currently, it is difficult to determine exactly what is happening in Ukraine due to Russia’s misinformation attacks and hindering of local communications. Reporters from across the world are trying their hardest to provide the most accurate information and are consistently communicating updates on this world crisis.